Raleigh, N.C. – Tom Hanks was America’s best-liked movie star on our poll this week, with 79% of respondents favorable and just 6% unfavorable. Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Clint Eastwood were right behind with support from three-quarters of respondents. Meryl Streep was the next highest, and the favorite female of the list, with 72% favorability. Halle Berry came in second for female actors with 63%
favorability. At the bottom of the overall list were Borat with a 16-45 favorability rating and Pee Wee Herman, 19% favorable, 58% unfavorable.

Folks had mixed feelings about the casting of Ben Affleck as the new Batman; 30% approved and 21% disapproved, while 49% said they’re not sure. Women viewed the choice favorably (37-13) while men were disapproving (23-29). Affleck’s personal favorability overall 45-19. In other Batman polling: Christian Bale and Michael Keaton were tied for favorite portrayal of Batman, each receiving 25% of the vote. Adam West
came in third with 19%. Batman was also respondents’ favorite superhero movie franchise, receiving 25%. Iron Man was second at 18%.

Democrats gave higher favorability ratings to nearly all actors, but Republicans liked Clint Eastwood more than Democrats, perhaps connected to his role in the Republican National Convention last fall. 41% of both Democrats and Republicans liked Schwarzenegger. Stars with marked partisan splits included Tom Cruise (D 47-30, R 33-44), Alec Baldwin (D 49-25, R 26-49), Sean Penn (D 57-14, R 24-50), Jane Fonda (D 60-
22, R 20-59), and director Quentin Tarantino (D 44-17, R 23-26). Most others enjoyed bipartisan favorable ratings.

Sean Connery was the overwhelming choice for best James Bond portrayal at 62%, just 6% chose current 007 Daniel Craig.

The Lion King came out as most favorite Disney movie at 25%, followed by Beauty and the Beast at 15% and Bambi at 11%.

PPP surveyed 803 registered voters between August 26-28, 2013. The margin of error was +/-3.5%. This poll was not authorized or paid for by any campaign or political organization. PPP’s surveys are conducted through automated telephone interviews.

Topline results are below.  Full results, including crosstabs, can be found here.

Q1 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Ben Affleck?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 45%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 19%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 37%

Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of the casting of
Ben Affleck as the new Batman?
Approve …………………………………………………. 30%
Disapprove……………………………………………… 21%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 49%

Q3 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Tom Cruise?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 34%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 43%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%

Q4 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Borat?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 16%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 45%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 38%

Q5 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Alec Baldwin?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 38%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 37%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q6 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pee Wee Herman?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 19%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 58%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 24%

Q7 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Sean Penn?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 41%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 33%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 26%

Q8 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jane Fonda?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 36%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 44%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 20%

Q9 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Pauly Shore?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 19%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 30%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 51%

Q10 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Arnold Schwarzenegger?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 39%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 39%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q11 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Mel Gibson?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 50%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 30%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 20%

Q12 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jack Nicholson?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 62%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 16%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 22%

Q13 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Meryl Streep?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 72%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 11%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q14 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Halle Berry?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 63%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 12%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q15 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Leonardo DiCaprio?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 58%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 17%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 25%

Q16 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Denzel Washington?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 76%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 8%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 16%

Q17 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Jennifer Lawrence?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 41%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 10%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 48%

Q18 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Clint Eastwood?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 74%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 12%

Q19 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Morgan Freeman?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 75%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 8%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q20 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Johnny Depp?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 55%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 21%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 24%

Q21 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Anne Hathaway?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 57%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 8%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 35%

Q22 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of George Clooney?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 62%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 17%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 21%

Q23 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Quentin Tarantino?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 34%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 22%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 44%

Q24 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Tom Hanks?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 79%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 6%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 15%

Q25 Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion
of Will Smith?
Favorable……………………………………………….. 71%
Unfavorable ……………………………………………. 5%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 23%

Q26 Who do you think was the best Batman:
Christian Bale, George Clooney, Michael
Keaton, Val Kilmer, or Adam West?
Christian Bale …………………………………………. 25%
George Clooney………………………………………. 10%
Michael Keaton ……………………………………….. 25%
Val Kilmer……………………………………………….. 5%
Adam West …………………………………………….. 19%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 17%

Q27 Which of the following is your favorite
superhero movie franchise: Batman, Iron Man,
Spider-Man, Superman, or X-Men?
Batman ………………………………………………….. 25%
Iron Man…………………………………………………. 18%
Spider-Man …………………………………………….. 13%
Superman ………………………………………………. 16%
X-Men ……………………………………………………. 9%
Something else/Not sure…………………………… 18%

Q28 Who do you think was the best James Bond:
Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, Daniel Craig,
Timothy Dalton, George Lazenby, or Roger
Moore?
Pierce Brosnan ……………………………………….. 8%
Sean Connery…………………………………………. 62%
Daniel Craig……………………………………………. 6%
Timothy Dalton………………………………………… 2%
George Lazenby ……………………………………… 0%
Roger Moore…………………………………………… 14%
Not sure …………………………………………………. 8%

Q29 Which of the following is your favorite Disney
movie: Aladdin, Bambi, Beauty and the Beast,
Cinderella, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid,
Peter Pan, Pinocchio, or Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs?
Aladdin…………………………………………………… 7%
Bambi…………………………………………………….. 11%
Beauty and the Beast ………………………………. 15%
Cinderella……………………………………………….. 9%
Lion King………………………………………………… 25%
Little Mermaid …………………………………………. 4%
Peter Pan……………………………………………….. 7%
Pinocchio ……………………………………………….. 3%
Snow White…………………………………………….. 8%
Something else/Not sure…………………………… 11%

Q30 In the last presidential election, did you vote for
Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?
Barack Obama………………………………………… 46%
Mitt Romney……………………………………………. 46%
Someone else/Don’t remember …………………. 8%

Q31 Would you describe yourself as very liberal,
somewhat liberal, moderate, somewhat
conservative, or very conservative?
Very liberal ……………………………………………… 9%
Somewhat liberal …………………………………….. 17%
Moderate………………………………………………… 31%
Somewhat conservative……………………………. 24%
Very conservative ……………………………………. 19%

Q32 If you are a woman, press 1. If a man, press 2.
Woman ………………………………………………….. 52%
Man……………………………………………………….. 48%

Q33 If you are a Democrat, press 1. If a Republican,
press 2. If you are an independent or identify
with another party, press 3.
Democrat ……………………………………………….. 39%
Republican……………………………………………… 34%
Independent/Other…………………………………… 27%

Q34 If you are Hispanic, press 1. If white, press 2.
If African-American, press 3. If other, press 4.
Hispanic…………………………………………………. 9%
White …………………………………………………….. 71%
African-American …………………………………….. 11%
Other……………………………………………………… 9%

Q35 If you are 18 to 45 years old, press 1. If 46 to
65, press 2. If you are older than 65, press 3.
18 to 45………………………………………………….. 40%
46 to 65………………………………………………….. 40%
Older than 65………………………………………….. 20%